Honda and Tokuyama have launched a demonstration project in Shunan City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, to operate a data centre using by-product hydrogen and a stationary fuel cell (FC) power station designed to reuse FC systems from fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs).

The companies recently held an opening ceremony at the demonstration site in Shunan City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.

The project was proposed by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO) in June 2023 as part of the Development of Technologies for Realising a Hydrogen Society / Development of Technologies for Regional Hydrogen Utilisation initiative.

The stationary FC power station, developed by Honda, uses by-product hydrogen produced by Tokuyama’s saltwater electrolysis business to generate electricity for a distributed data centre operated by Mitsubishi.

The project aims to explore the potential of reusing automotive FC systems for stationary FC power station applications and contribute to the decarbonisation of electric power through effective use of FC systems.

As power demand for data centres increases due to advancements in large-volume data processing technologies, such as generative AI and automated driving, the companies aim to contribute to the green transformation of these centres and the wider digital transformation.

The demonstration will combine electricity from multiple sources, including a stationary FC power station, the power grid, stationary batteries, and renewable energy sources, to verify more efficient and optimal power configurations for different patterns of operation.